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Image Credit: Chad Harris / CFJC Today

VANCOUVER — The British Columbia Real Estate Association says June home sales fell short of record levels set last year but demand remains well above average.

The association says 11,671 homes sold in June, down 9.6 per cent from the same period in 2016.

The total amount of money changing hands was $8.47 billion, a 5.6 per cent dip compared to the year earlier.

The average price of a home continues to climb, nudging $726,000 last month, a jump of 4.4 per cent over June 2016.

Association economist Brendon Ogmudson says the health of the B.C. housing market is supported by a strong provincial economy and vigorous job growth.

He says the lack of homes for sale is responsible for continuing increases in property prices.

“Supply remains a challenge, which means most areas are seeing tight market conditions and significant upward pressure on prices,” Ogmudson says in a news release.

Figures from the real estate association show when 2016 is taken out of the mix, residential sales in B.C. continue to rival the heights of the 2015 housing market, which was also well above the 10-year average for home sales.

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